Notes: Chapter Seven

Chapter 7: Fox’s War on the White House

Page 176

“That all changed”: Reliable Sources, CNN, October 11, 2009. Transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0910/11/rs.01.html. See also John Amato, “White House’s Anita Dunn says Fox News is a wing of the Republican Party,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 11, 2009.

Page 177

“However, he had rejected”: Nicole Belle, “Chris Wallace Whines That The White House Are A Bunch Of Crybabies. Look In The Mirror Lately, Chris?,” CrooksandLiars.com, September 20, 2009.

Page 178

“Dunn’s critique”: CNN, “Obama: Nobel Peace Prize is ‘call to action’,” CNN.com, October 9, 2008.

“Rather than congratulate”: David Neiwert, “Obama’s Nobel makes wingnut heads explode. So why do right-wingers hate America?,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 9, 2009.

“Rush Limbaugh”: The Rush Limbaugh Show, October 9, 2009. See also Alex Koppelman, “Limbaugh: Obama Nobel more embarrassing than Olympics loss,” Salon.com, October 9, 2009, and video at Media Matters, “Right-wing media root against America … again: Media conservatives cheer when America loses, fume when it wins,” MediaMatters.org, October 9, 2009.

“Republican National Committee chair”: Greg Sargent, “Michael Steele Seizes On Obama’s Nobel To Revive ‘Celebrity’ Meme,” The Plum Line, October 9, 2009.

Page 179

“The Obama-bashing”: Matt Corley, “Beck: Obama should turn down the Nobel and give it ‘to the Tea Party goers and the 9-12 Project’,” ThinkProgress.org, October 9, 2009.
“Brian Kilmeade”: Media Matters, “Kilmeade asks whether Obama delayed decision on Afghanistan troop request in order to receive Nobel Peace Prize,” MediaMatters.org, October 9, 2009.

“Nearly all of Fox’s anchors”: David Neiwert, “Fox wonders why White House sees them as reflexively anti-Obama. Then its pundits bitch about his Nobel Prize,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 13, 2009.

Page 180

“Beck had been”: Glenn Beck, Fox News Channel, October 12, 2009. See also Media Matters, “Conservative media fearmonger that Fox News is part of White House ‘enemies list’,” MediaMatters.org, October 14, 2009.

Page 181

“The campaign to undermine Obama”: Logan Murphy, “After Roberts’ Oath Flub, Wallace Wonders If Obama Is Really President,” CrooksandLiars.com, January 21, 2009. See also Josh Marshall, “Fox Eats Wallace’s Brain,” TalkingPointsMemo.com, January 20, 2009.

Page 182

“Because these things”: Margaret Talev, “Obama retakes the oath of office after busy first day,” McClatchy Newspapers, January 21, 2009.

“Sean Hannity”: Media Matters, “Hannity advances false comparison of inauguration costs,” MediaMatters.org, January 22, 2009.

Page 183

“At the site’s discussion forum”: Gotta Laff, “Hannity’s America: What kind of revolution appeals most to you?,” Political Carnival, February 26, 2009.

“Lord, in the memory”: Lynn Sweet, “Rev. Lowery Inauguration benediction. Transcript,” Chicago Sun-Times, January 20, 2009.

“This was too much”: David Neiwert, “Obama’s election ended racism so we don’t ever want to hear about it again!,” CrooksandLiars.com, January 21, 2009.

“Back in early January”: Matea Gold, “Fox News’ Glenn Beck strikes ratings gold by challenging Barack Obama,” Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2009.

Page 184

“Sean Hannity invited”: David Neiwert, ” Limbaugh on Hannity: Racism is ‘the exclusive province of the left’,” CrooksandLiars.com, January 22, 2009.

Page 185

“Scouring through”: Heather, “Phil Donahue Spells Out A Few Things For Hannity,” Video Café, March 19, 2009.

“On February 18″: John Amato, “Hannity produces Armageddon like video presentation of the Stimulus bill: Socialism you can believe in. The new America,” CrooksandLiars.com, February 19, 2009.

“On March 30″: David Neiwert, “Morris, Hannity agree: The black-helicopter crowd was right,” CrooksandLiars.com, March 31, 2009.

Page 186

“On the April 3 edition”: Media Matters, “Hannity truncated Obama quote to claim it was an example of ‘blame America first’,” MediaMatters.org, April 4, 2009.

Page 187

“What Hannity didn’t show”: Remarks by President Obama at Strasbourg Town Hall, April 3, 2009.

“Hannity then went to his”: David Neiwert, “Bill Cunningham manages to make Sean Hannity look like the voice of sanity,” CrooksandLiars.com, April 30, 2009.

Page 188

“On his May 5 show”: David Neiwert, “Is Sean Hannity urging Americans to armed revolt?,” CrooksandLiars.com, May 6, 2009.

“Hannity’s May 16 show”” David Neiwert, “Randall Terry: Obama speaking at Notre Dame is like giving Nazis a podium after the war,” CrooksandLiars.com, May 16, 2009.

Page 190

“Beck picked up on”: Aaron Klein, “Will a ‘red’ help blacks go green? White House appoints ‘radical communist’ who sees environment as racial issue,” WorldNetDaily, April 12, 2009.

“That article”: Eliza Strickland, “The New Face of Environmentalism,” East Bay Express, November 2, 2005.

Page 191

“Beck brought the story”: Glenn Beck, Fox News Channel, July 23, 2009. Transcript at Media Matters, “Beck caps off week of race-baiting by calling Obama a ‘racist’,” MediaMatters.org, July 30, 2009.

Page 192

“Beck repeated the lie”: Glenn Beck, Fox News Channel, August 11, 2009. Lexis transcript cited at Media Matters, “Beck repeatedly gets basic facts wrong despite boasting that ‘some of the biggest minds in America’ do his research,” MediaMatters.org, September 30, 2009.

“Beck eventually corrected”: Media Matters, “‘Four months’ later, Beck retracts falsehood that Van Jones was a convicted felon,” MediaMatters.org, December 4, 2009.

“He had been on Beck’s show”: David Neiwert, “Beck, corporate shill proclaim climate bill a ‘watermelon’: Thin layer of green on the outside, ‘Communist red’ inside,” CrooksandLiars.com, June 27, 2009.

“Kerpen returned”: Media Matters, “Fox News on a witch hunt for Obama ‘czars’,” MediaMatters.org, September 9, 2009.

“For a while it seemed”: Jason Linkins, “Fox News Shocked Van Jones Called Republicans ‘Assholes’ — In February,” Huffington Post, September 2, 2009.

Page 193

“Jones apologized”: Glenn Thrush, “Van Jones: A**hole remark ‘inappropriate’,” Politico.com, September 2, 2009.

“But it didn’t”: Amanda Carpenter, “Green jobs czar signed ‘truther’ statement in 2004,” Washington Times, September 3, 2009.

“Jones publicly renounced”: Joe Garofoli, “Obama adviser on green jobs under attack,” San Francisco Chronicle, September 5, 2009.

“Indeed, it later emerged”: Ben Smith, “Trutherism-lite, and a second Jones tie,” Politico.com, September 4, 2009.

“Republicans in Congress”: Garance-Franke Ruta, “Leading Republican Demands That White House Fire ‘Green Collar’ Adviser,” Washington Post, September 4, 2009.

“Senator Kit Bond”: Press release, “Senator Highlights Jones’ Repugnant ‘Truther’ Association and Inflammatory Language,” Office of Senator Kit Bond, September 4, 2009.

“So late on Saturday”: Garance-Franke Ruta, “White House Adviser Van Jones Resigns Amid Controversy Over Past Activism,” Washington Post, September 6, 2009.

Page 195

“The next day”: George Stephanopoulos, “Gibbs Responds To Van Jones Resignation,” ABC News, September 6, 2009.

“Fox, and particularly Glenn Beck”: David Neiwert, “With Van Jones’ blood in the water, the right-wing sharks at Fox are circling,” CrooksandLiars.com, September 9, 2009.

Page 197

“Obama had told reporters”: News Conference by the President, East Room, July 22, 2009.

“Beck interpreted”: CSPANJunkie, “Barack Obama Has A Deep-Seated Hatred Of White People! Glenn Beck,” Video Café, July 28, 2009.

Page 198

“Even Howard Kurtz”: David Neiwert, “Beck’s ‘racism’ charge hits Howard Kurtz’s outrage meter,” CrooksandLiars.com, August 3, 2009.

“Fox officially”: Chris Ariens, “FNC Responds to Glenn Beck Calling Pres. Obama a ‘Racist’,” TVNewser (Media Bistro), July 28, 2009.

“In September”: Heather, “Glenn Beck Sorry for ‘The Way It Was Phrased’ When Asked About His ‘Obama is a Racist’ Comment,” Video Café, September 23, 2009.

Page 199

“Couric persisted”: Ben Armbruster, “Beck Refuses To Define What He Meant By The Phrase ‘White Culture’: ‘Ummmmm, I Don’t Know’,” ThinkProgress.org, September 24, 2009.

“On his August 27 show”: David Neiwert, “Obama’s ‘SS’: Glenn Beck sees scary black people,” CrooksandLiars.com, August 28, 2009.

Page 200

“It emerged a couple of weeks”: David Neiwert, “Glenn Beck’s scary negro militants turn out to be really, really scary dancers,” CrooksandLiars.com, September 8, 2009.

“The Monday after”: David Neiwert, “With Van Jones’ blood in the water, the right-wing sharks at Fox are circling,” CrooksandLiars.com, September 9, 2009.

Page 201

“When her nomination”: “A Latina judge’s voice: Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s 2001 address to the ‘Raising the Bar’ symposium at the UC Berkeley School of Law,” UC Berkeley News.

“Media Matters observed”: Media Matters, “Politico, Wash. Post omit context of Sotomayor remark about ‘Latina,’ ‘white male’ judges,” MediaMatters.org, May 27, 2009.

“Rush Limbaugh”: David Neiwert, “Limbaugh the Hutt weighs in on Sonia Sotomayor,” CrooksandLiars.com, May 26, 2009.

“The talking point”: David Neiwert, “Look who’s calling Sonia Sotomayor a ‘racist’: The Right’s leading bigots,” CrooksandLiars.com, May 27, 2009.

“But Glenn Beck”: Media Matters, “Beck calls Sotomayor a ‘racist,’ who ‘is not that bright’ and ‘divisive’,” MediaMatters.org, May 28, 2009.

“He also dismissively”: Media Matters, “Beck on Sotomayor nomination: ‘Hey, Hispanic chick lady! You’re empathetic … you’re in!’,” MediaMatters.org, May 26, 2009.

“and for good measure”: David Neiwert, “NRA lying in wait to ambush Sotomayor — with popguns,” Third Branch, July 14, 2009.

Page 202

“On other occasions”: Media Matters, “Beck: ‘The health care bill is reparations. It’s the beginning of reparations’,” MediaMatters.org, July 22, 2009.

“It was nothing more”: John Amato, “Rush Limbaugh Uses Innocent Detroiters As Show Pinata,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 10, 2009.

Page 203

“Beck, of course”: David Neiwert, “Beck: Black Obama fans were ‘taught to be slaves,’ while progressives like Stern are ‘taking you to a place to be slaughtered’,” CrooksandLiars.com, November 4, 2009.

“Even when Beck”: David Neiwert, “Glenn Beck gets to ask dumb white-guy questions to a room full of black conservatives,” CrooksandLiars.com, November 14, 2009.

Page 204

“Sean Hannity got to work”: Amanda Terkel, “Hannity: Starting Now, My ‘Job’ Is To ‘Get Rid Of Every Other One’ Of Obama’s Czars,” ThinkProgress.org, September 8, 2009.

“Megyn Kelly”: Media Matters, “Fox News on a witch hunt for Obama ‘czars’,” MediaMatters.org, September 9, 2009.

Page 205

“That evening”: Media Matters, “Hannity falsely claims science adviser Holdren ‘advocated compulsory abortion’,” MediaMatters.org, September 9, 2009.

“Both Beck and”: Media Matters, “Fox News on a witch hunt,” op. cit.

“But with Van Jones’ scalp”: David Neiwert, “Waaaah!!!! Sean Hannity wants him an Obama White House scalp too! Too bad his attack on Jennings is BS,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 1, 2009.

Page 207

“A couple of days later”: Media Matters, “Exclusive: Statement from former student at center of Fox-fueled Jennings controversy,” MediaMatters.org, October 2, 2009.

“But Hannity refused”: David Neiwert, “Sean Hannity’s scalp-hunting desperation descends into fabricating NAMBLA connections to Jennings,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 8, 2009.

“Then, on October 16″: Media Matters, “Dem strategist Menendez calls Hannity out on Jennings’ smears, points out student was 16,” MediaMatters.org, October 16, 2009.

Page 208

“Some examples”: This list is only partial, and is largely compiled from the Media Matters report, “Fox’s news programs echo its ‘opinion’ shows: Smears, doctored videos, GOP talking points,” MediaMatters.org, October 13, 2009.

Page 211

“On the October 11″: David Neiwert, “WATB of the Week: Bill O’Reilly claims, ‘There was no cheerleading of President Bush on this network’,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 13, 2009.

Page 212

“Beck opened the show”: David Neiwert, “Another Glenn Beck weepfest, because Americans need to wake up to the evil Marxist radicals in the White House. Hooboy,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 16, 2009.

Page 213

“So on October 19″: David Neiwert, “Bogus! Glenn Beck truncates Anita Dunn’s ‘Mao’ remarks to wildly distort what she actually said,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 20, 2009.

Page 214

“Sean Hannity also”: Media Matters, “Hannity airs cropped, misleading Dunn quote, then tells Davis ‘you don’t have a clue what she was saying’,” MediaMatters.org.

“On his October 23 show”: David Neiwert, “Beck Goes Batsh*t: To depict Obama White House as Capone-like thugs, he waves a Louisville Slugger,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 24, 2009.

Page 215

“Two days later”: David, “Chris Wallace compares White House ‘war on Fox’ to gangster tactics,” Video Café, October 25, 2009.

“The Feinberg charge”: Christina Bellantoni, “WH: We’re Happy To Exclude Fox, But Didn’t Yesterday With Feinberg Interview,” TalkingPointsMemo.com, October 23, 2009.

Page 216

“As Media Matters put it”: Media Matters, “Fox’s news programs echo its ‘opinion’ shows,” op. cit.

Page 217

“The consummate example”: David Neiwert, “Sally Quinn sniffs at that gauche Alan Grayson fellow, and White House’s ‘war on Fox’, in classic Village style,” CrooksandLiars.com, October 24, 2009.

“ABC News’ Sunday”: Heather, “Ingraham Claims the White House Puts Fox in the Same Category as Islamic Jihadists,” Video Café, October 26, 2009.

Page 218

“About the only realistic”: Joe Klein, “Outfoxed?.” Time, October 23, 2009.

Page 219

“In late October”: “Fox News Viewed as Most Ideological Network,” Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, October 29, 2009.

“A previous Pew poll”: “Fox News Stands Out as ‘Too Critical’ of Obama,” Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, April 22, 2009.

“And eventually”: David Bauder, Associated Press, “Fox’s Major Garrett gets Obama interview,” USA Today, November 17, 2009.

“Fox News’s employees”: David Neiwert, “Rupert Murdoch says Glenn Beck ‘was right’ that Obama is a racist who hates white people,” CrooksandLiars.com, November 10, 2009.